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Super Bowl Betting Recap

The Seattle Seahawks disembowel Denver
Broncos to win their first ever Lombardi. Join us as we breakdown the Super
Bowl odds and betting aftermath.

Why
not us?

When the top seeds of both the NFC and AFC
booked their spots in Super Bowl XLVIII,
effectively delivering a clash of the best against the best – what is the ideal
byword for any top competition – it was all anybody could talk about, almost to
the point of exhaustion. Of particular interest was how they would stack up
against each other, the Broncos’ number-one ranked offense and Seahawks’
number-one ranked defense. When their top credentials were gained through
contrasting styles (forces), which would be left standing to soak up the
plaudits was the most intriguing question of all. Tale told the latter won. The
shocking bit, though, it was in convincing fashion, by disembowelling the
Denver Broncos 43-8.

When sportsbooks
went to press on the highly anticipated clash they opted for a conservative
outlook, with the betting landscape rather close on the money line odds and
ever so tight on the spread. Clearly, in the trial of offense vs. defense, both
were considered highly.

But the Broncos did emerge as the slight favourites
at -130 NFL odds, a conspicuous
leaning towards the brute offense that bulldozed through the regular season and
postseason to book its place in the championships. Seahawks meanwhile were
listed at the marginal disadvantage across the board, at +110 NFL odds or thereabouts. Granted, hardly a ringing
endorsement but a compliment of sorts nonetheless. Finally, the spread was
nestled lovingly on a tight line, tipping its hat to both styles around the
2-point mark.

Still, overall the market stance went
against the well-known maxim of defense wins games, which many took as a sign
of changing times in the way the game is played today as well as in NFL betting markets.

Colour
the world shocked

Experts, fans and neutrals alike were all
curious about this clash, the quintessential battle between opposing schools of
thought. But for all the disparity and differences inherent in both camps and
the division in sports betting circles
about the “who the winner will be,” there was one unanimous expectation: a
close battle to the end.

It was not the fact that Seattle Seahawks
won that has all and sundry gobsmacked in the aftermath. It’s the way they did
it: stifling the Broncos juggernaut and disembowelling the Broncos defense,
reducing them all in one to a jittery shamble, not to mention casting Peyton
Manning’s legacy in some doubt. That absolutely nobody expected at all.

In mere seconds, it was 2-0, then 5-0.
Blink and it was 8-0...double blink and it was a staggering 22-0 going into the
halftime. So furious was the Hawks’ pace throughout. Not until the scoreboard
read 36-0 did Manning and Co., finally get past the Hawks’ defense into the end
zone – the lone scoring attempt by the ‘greatest offense of all time’ in order
to prevent the inexplicable humiliation of a complete bagel.

If anybody were going to win in a big way,
by all accounts, the Broncos would have been the likely choice. But from the
first play of the game, it was an uphill battle for the Broncos – incidentally,
that proved to be one of the most profitable NFL bets on the night: first score of the game to come by any other
method (other than a TD or FG) at +3300
at Bet365. In hindsight, that
bizarre throw/fumble/missed catch to start the game – whatever it was – proved
to be a bad omen. Yet another Manning choke job in the biggest game of all.

NFL
betting Verdict

When the top-ranked offense takes
on the top-ranked defense, it goes without saying: something has to give. By
and large, most expected the latter to do so, highlighted by a relatively
inexperienced troop at this level and quarterbacked by a rookie. Tale told they
did not just rise to the occasion. They surpassed expectations and proved to be
the savvy NFL pick.

Inasmuch as the night was about Seattle
Seahawks and their incredible victory, the night was also about the complete
and utter breakdown of the Broncos, inexplicably crumbling faster than an Oreo
cookie on the biggest stage in NFL
betting. Ramifications that will surely be felt in the upcoming season.